A Bouquet of Marigolds
by wings-like-no-other
Summary: They are united against a common enemy; a man who tortured them throughout their childhoods. Both baring scars of their own, they find themselves drawn to each other. The battle races closer until only one remains standing, the other falling into pieces. Erik/OC
1. Chapter One: Broken Child

Her skin itched from the constant needles they had pressed into it. Moving any part of her body even the smallest amount would cause it to inflame with pain that caused red to appear before her vision. The places where the small cage pressed against her skin hurt the most. Her skin was rubbed raw all along her back, each bone of her spine clearly visible through the red skin. Her small figure was pressed inside of a white cage, the space looking too small for any human to live.

The door, which stood at the end of the long white room her cage was housed in, slammed open. The boots clanged on the tile floor. The girl in the cage cringed, only to have pain rocket through her. As carefully as she could, for even moving her eyes pained her, she looked up at the figure the two guards were dragging between them. Long hair was covering the face, but it was clear it was a male.

Another guard slammed a metal chair in front of her cage, at the perfect height so that it was eye level. The man was thrown into the chair and quickly chained still. Another man walked up, the man who had found her and locked her away. He leaned over so that he filled her vision.

"Hello. I hope your accommodations suit you. I do not know your name, but I know what you can do. Show me," he stood up and gestured to the man chained to the chair, "on this man." The girl shook her head, ignoring the pain. The man smiled. "Oh? Well, we're going to leave you two alone for a while before we prick you with a few more needles so you're easier to control. How does that sound?"

The girl did not know how to speak, did not know how to make words come out of her mouth. But she was able to look at the man with hatred until he laughed and walked away. The guards left with him; leaving the girl and the man alone.

There was not yet a gag on the man's mouth, and he looked terrified at her. "Please, please don't hurt me. I don't know what you can do but please don't hurt me." he was begging then, tears were falling down his face. The girl didn't know if she should feel sorry for this man. She knew if she didn't do something to him; it would be worse for her. But doing something to him would be terrible. There was no way for her to tell him that she didn't want to hurt him.

* * *

Erik had heard whispers from guards of the young girl locked in the cage. That she was a mutant and Dr. Klaus Schmidt was trying to force it out of her. It became Erik's goal to try and see her, this girl locked in the cage. The only time he was able to, however, was night when no one was watching him.

So one night, as he lay in his cold bed staring up at the ceiling, Erik pulled his courage up from the distant parts of his body and slowly made his way to where he believed the girl to be. He did not know her name, no one did. She didn't know how to speak. But Erik felt that if he saw her, then maybe he would be able to help her.

The door wasn't locked and the moment he stepped inside the light blinded him. It took a few seconds before Erik could see again and he was able to take in the entire room. There was a cage, standing on top of a table, in the center of the room. From first glance it looked like it was filled with meat but when he looked closer he saw that there was a girl inside of it.

Erik hurried over to the cage. The girl inside raised her head as much as she could so that she could look at him, this boy she had never seen before. She couldn't be more than two years old, but already there was horror and hatred in her eyes. Her skin was covered in blood and dirt, making her blue eyes stand out even more. There were clear bruises covering her face and cuts that already looked infected. Erik rested a hand on the side of the cage as his eyes studied her.

"Who are you?" he asked her. The girl didn't respond, but he didn't expect her too. "Are you okay?" her eyes spoke for themselves and Erik hit himself internally for asking such a question. Of course she was not okay. How could she be? "I'm going to try and get you out, don't worry." He whispered, suddenly feeling like he should. "I don't know how, but I am trying to find a way."

Erik turned and was surprised to see a man sitting in the chair. He looked like he was dying, his arms nearly slipping out of the chains they were wrapped in. The man looked up. "Please." His voice was raspy. "Help me." Erik shook his head and stepped back, suddenly feeling sick.

* * *

It was years later, after the girl had had needles shoved into every single one of her veins and had the cage she lived in not changed in size at all, that Erik returned. He rushed up to her and pressed his hands against the cage. "If possible, can you back away from this side of the cage?" his voice sounded angry. The girl couldn't really move, but she tried to press herself against the back while ignoring the pain as best she could.

Erik stepped back and held his hands out, concentrating hard on the bars while pulling in all the anger he felt about how this girl lived. All the bars slowly began to bend apart and the girl's eyes widened as she watched them move. When they stopped, Erik fell over and breathed hard. That was the only sound that could be heard before he looked up once again.

"Can you fit through that?" he breathed, looking up at her. The girl studied the space for a second before slowly adjusting herself so that she could move through the entrance. Her head made it through first, than her shoulders before Erik had to reach out to support her body while she got her legs out. Erik lowered her to the ground so that she could rest her back against the side of the table.

"Have you eaten anything recently?" he asked her gently, resting his hand on her shoulder. The girl shook her head and Erik handed her a small piece of bread. "It was all I was able to get, I'm sorry." She smiled at him.

Her mouth opened as she attempted to say something, but the sound that came out was not a language. She hung her head. She had failed something that everyone else found easy; saying thank you. Erik rested his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. I understand if you can't speak. I'm going to help you get out, but won't be able to come with you."

Erik was regretting his decision as he looked over her broken figure. The dress, which must have fit her when it was new, hung off her like rags that barely covered her skin. Everywhere he looked seemed to be covered with small dots from needle injections, with small bruises forming around some of them. The places where the bars of the cage had been constantly pressed against her were red indents that stretched across her skin. Some of them were bleeding. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be bones. Her spine, clearly visible, seemed to have all of its skin peeled away. Blood was trickling down it and he felt slightly sick. He felt so sad for her, that at such a young age she had to go through so much pain. How she was still alive he did not understand.

She raised her hand shakily and pointed to the chair. Erik turned to look at the man who sat him. He looked like he was near death. Erik turned back to the girl. "Do you want me to save him?" She nodded vigorously. "I don't know if I can."

The girl stared at him, her eyes wide. She seemed to be trying to tell him something. They were silent for a moment before Erik finally sighed. "All right. I'll try." He walked behind the man and focused on the metal. But even as he tried so hard to bend the metal, it wouldn't bend. Erik finally gave up. "I'm sorry. I tried." The girl nodded sadly. She pushed herself into a position she could crawl and made her way over to the man.

She reached her hands up and rested them on either side of his face. Her eyes closed and she concentrated for a moment. The man seemed to relax and she became tense, but he nodded thank you and she smiled at him. She crawled over to where Erik was and looked up at him expectantly. Erik leaned down and lifted the girl into his arms. She was so light that it didn't seem like he was carrying anything, something that terrified Erik even more.

Erik hurried through the building, pausing at every corner to make sure that no one was there. Slowly, he made his way to the outside world, where he placed the girl on the ground. He kneeled down so that he was looking her in the face. "I wish I could come with you now, but I can't. Try to get as far away from here as you can." The girl nodded. "Maybe one day I'll see you again, and hopefully then you'll know your name." She smiled and reached up to hug him. Erik nearly put his hand on her back, but quickly realized how that wasn't a good idea.

He backed away. "Go!" Then he disappeared back into the building and the girl was left alone. She looked up and down the road she was left on, no idea where to go. She didn't remember the last time she had been outside and she wasn't certain where she was.

The girl knew that crawling wouldn't be able to get her anywhere. She moved over to the tree next to her and latched her hands around the trunk. With the small amount of strength she had, the girl pulled herself standing. Her legs didn't seem willing to support her weight. She nearly fell, but the tree kept her up. She forced herself to imitate what she constantly saw other people doing. Slowly, she began moving around the tree. After a few minutes, she was able to walk without having to hold onto the tree. Now her only problem was which direction she would go.

She could see nothing down either road, no light or sound or anything. The girl sighed and began to walk down the road to the right. She walked for hours, every few minutes turning around to look back to see how far away the building she had lived in was. At one point she reached a fence with wires that curled around the top. But it didn't stop the girl. She took a deep breath and simply climbed over the fence, ignoring the pain from the metal pricking her skin. Blood began to slowly drip onto the ground behind her. The girl only vaguely realized what was happening, but even then she didn't do anything to stop it.

Soon she reached a town. It was large, with lights and sounds that the small girl felt overwhelmed by. She found her way to alleyways where the sound and light didn't reach. Soon she had to cross open ground again, but then she reached a large building. The girl walked up and knocked on the door, not caring who opened but simply wanting somewhere to get food. The door quickly opened.

"You poor girl! Come in at once!" the woman who opened the door ushered her in.

It was there, in the orphanage, that the girl spent the rest of her years until she was old enough to travel to America. The woman who opened the door taught her how to speak in multiple languages, how to write in even more. She helped the girl pick her first name and agreed with her when she didn't want to pick a last name.

When the girl was finally old enough, she bid farewell to the woman who loved her and climbed onto the boat to America. The girl was searching for another person like her, another person who was different. And she was desperately hoping to find the boy who could bend metal once more.


	2. Chapter Two: Hiding Mutations

Charles peered up at the large building in front of them, with window's stretching into the sky. "I believe this is the place. I don't know what floor she lives on, but we can ask the desk which floor," he peered at a piece of paper, "Lilia Iona lives on."

"Lilia Iona. That is a strange name." Erik commented on as they walked into the building. Charles paused in his walk.

"Please Erik, don't judge people on simply their name." Charles voice was tired, like they had had that conversation multiple times before.

He raised his hands in defense. "I was just saying it was strange! It seems like something out of a fairytale, not a grown woman. It was an innocent comment."

Charles sighed. He was interested in this woman, perhaps more than the others. This was a grown woman, who appeared to be earning her money in a respectable income, with a mutation she was able to hide and appeared to control. It was not every day that you found someone like that.

The desk informed the two men that Miss Iona lived on the twenty-second floor. They made their way over to the elevator. It moved slowly upward around them.

"I find it surprising that a mutant could live in such a…lavish place. Especially a woman."

Charles turned to Erik in surprise. "Are you implying something, Erik?"

"I'm just saying; most of the female mutants we've meet have been working as prostitutes or private whores. But, I suppose this Lilia could just be a very very good whore." Erik shrugged.

Charles turned away. "If you continue to refer to the woman we meet as such, then I might stop bringing you along to meet them. You seem upset not to be in another whore house. But I will not judge you, for it is not in my nature to do as such." The two did not speak until the elevator clanked open at the twenty-second floor.

* * *

Lilia rubbed her head as she stood in the center of her small apartment, breathing in as she attempted to stem her terrible headache. With a sigh, she leaned against the wall and slid down. The headache always came with memories, memories she didn't want to be remembering.

They came in flashes. The cage. The white. The pain. The man. The boy who saved her. She latched onto the last one. It was the happiest she had of that time. The boy who could bend the cage without touching it, but not a man's chains. The boy who helped her escape from the hell she had known. The boy whos name she did not know, but wished to thank with the voice she now had.

There was a loud knock on her door that shook her out of her state of memory. Lilia frowned; she wasn't expecting anyone to come. Her neighbors weren't the type to speak to anyone, let alone a nurse that kept to herself. Lilia pushed herself up and peered through the hole in her door. The strange perspective of the two faces behind the door threw her off slightly, but it was clear there were two men waiting for her. She pulled open the door and looked through the crack.

"Am I speaking to Miss Lilia Iona?" the shorter man asked politely, his hands crossed behind him as he leaned towards her. Lilia nodded. "My name is Charles. My friend here is Erik." He gestured to the taller man behind him. "If you don't mind, we have something that we would like to discuss with you. But it is not a discussion that can be had where curious ears can hear."

Lilia caught Erik's eye almost automatically. The taller man raised his eyebrows in surprise, but seemed to tell her in silence that it was okay. She pulled open the door and ushered them in. "Would you like something to drink? Eat?" she asked them, leading them towards her small living room. "I have water, juice?"

"Um, no thank you." Charles smiled at her. Erik shook his head. Lilia walked so that she stood in front of them. They stood in the center of the room, too close for her comfort. She looked between them. Her hands wrapped around themselves before her, fingers pulling on fingers and hands pressing into hands.

The woman before them was pretty, Charles had to admit. But it wasn't in the way most people were pretty. You had to look hard to see her beauty. Her ash-brown hair was curled over one shoulder in a way that seemed to have no thought behind it. It framed her face perfectly, accenting the high cheekbones and pale skin she already had. Though her eyes, the strangest shade of blue, were what kept his attention on her. There seemed be other colors buried deep inside of them, swirling and battling for dominance. He was excited to learn of her mutation. As far as he could tell, there was no physical disadvantage to her mutation. But mutants always find a way to hide the deformities.

"We will show you our mutation, first, and then you can show us yours."

Lilia raised her eyebrows. "I will not be showing you my mutation." Her voice was calm. It was clear she was not going to argue. "I will see yours, but you will not see mine. Trust me; you do not wish to see mine."

Charles nodded. "I understand. But after we show you our mutations, we will tell you what we wish." He turned to Erik. "Shall you begin?"

Erik cast a glance about the room, searching for something metal. He reached out his hand and caused the bracelet resting there to float in the air.

Lilia stumbled back, her hand shooting to her mouth. Her bracelet, made of solid metal, was floating in the air under the control of a man who was staring at her strangely. "Are you the boy who rescued me from the cage?" Her voice switched instantly to German, the harsh words sounding strange coming from her mouth.

Erik stared at her strangely. "What do you mean?" He spoke the same language, though it seemed to become him more.

"You're a man who can bend metal; it was a boy who could bend metal. He bent the bars of the cage and helped me escape."

"You're the silent girl. The one who couldn't speak." Charles understood what the language meant, but not what they were saying. The words made no sense to him. How did the two know each other?

"You learned to talk." Erik continued to look her over. Her voice was what he imagined it would be; light with an underlying feeling of knowledge and sadness. "How?"

She smiled. "I found someone who was willing to teach me. But why are you here?"

"The CIA is helping us find other mutants to use to fight against Shaw and Russia."

"And why should I come? I have a perfectly good life right now. I don't want to be involved in any war."

Erik raised his eyebrows. "Even against the man that locked you in a cage and tortured you beyond belief?"

Lilia looked between Erik, the man she already trusted, and Charles, the man who seemed to only want the best. She did want to get back at Shaw for what he did to her for all those years, for injecting her with so many drugs that she had been barely able to think. For making her a lab rat. She turned to Charles.

"What can you do?" She spoke English now, making the transition smoothly.

Charles raised his hand to his temple and pressed two fingers against the side. His voice appeared in her head. _I am a telepath._ His hand fell from his head and he smiled lightly. "I know you don't wish to show us your mutation, but can you tell us what it is?"

Lilia turned away. "No thank you. I prefer to keep my mutation a secret, even from others with mutations. But I will come with you. But not to help the CIA, Charles. To help find Shaw. And only Shaw." She disappeared into the room to the side. "I will be out in a moment."

Charles turned to Erik. "How do you know her?"

Erik rubbed his forehead. "When I was still with Shaw in the concentration camp, there was word of a girl who was locked in a cage. I searched for her and eventually found her. She was two years old then and trapped in a cage that could barely fit a one year old. There was a man chained in front of her. I don't know his purpose, but it seems as though Shaw wanted her to do something to him. I promised I would get her out, and it was only after five years that I was able too. I helped her escape, but I could not go with her. I had no idea what happened to her."

"Could she not speak?"

"She had never learned how, I assume. I wasn't even certain she understood what I said, but clearly she did. And before you ask, I have no idea what her mutation is." Erik looked around the room. It was small, but neat. He pulled the metal bracelet towards him, something Charles clearly raised his eyebrows about, and moved it through the air. They spent the rest of the time waiting in silence, until Lilia returned with a bag in hand.

* * *

They managed to time their arrival just right so that there were less people milling about than normal. Even so, the ones who were there stared without faltering, making Lilia blush and Erik glare back. Charles attempted to remain indifferent, something that was harder than it sounded. Once they were inside the building, Charles turned to Lilia.

"I'm going to bring you to your room." He said, only to have Erik step forward.

"I'll do it." Charles nodded and stepped aside, letting Erik and Lilia walk past him. As soon as Charles was out of sight Lilia visibly relaxed.

"Do you not like being around Charles?" Erik asked her, glancing towards her.

"I don't like being around anyone. I can barely stand being around you."

Erik chuckled. He stopped in front of a steel door. "This is your room."

Lilia glanced at him before pushing it open. The walls were white, but the bed was covered in a soft blue fabric. It was a spacious, with light woods and soft lights coating the room. Lilia turned in surprise to Erik.

"I thought it would be like the outside of the building; a prison."

Erik smirked. "As much as it appears, I do not believe we are being held prisoner here. But don't take my word on it." Lilia moved to sit on the bed, dropping her bags on the floor. "Are you going to want to meet the other mutants?" Lilia said nothing. "It is fine if you do not wish to. I believe Charles may be a bit upset, but he will not make you meet them if you do not want to. You are, after all, an adult."

"I do not wish to meet them. Thank you for bringing me to my room Erik. I'd like to be alone now." Erik nodded and backed out of her room, closing the door silently as he left.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Please tell me what you thought of it in the reviews. I hope you like Lilia's name; the story will be coming later.**


	3. Chapter Three: Shifting Eyes

Charles and Erik made their way towards where the plane was waiting. However, Lilia was following right behind. "I'm coming too." They both turned in surprise. Erik couldn't help but feel a small bit of pride.

"You can't. It's too dangerous." Erik held out a hand to stop her.

"You're going to find Shaw. You promised I could help you kill him Erik. And if you have the chance now, I want to be there."

"We don't even know what your mutation is, Lilia. Erik's right; it isn't safe."

She had caught up with them by then. Her eyes flickered with a color neither of them thought they would ever see in the blue. "If you don't let me come to help you destroy the man who destroyed me, then trust me I will kill you. And you don't want me killing you; it will be worse than anything Shaw or anyone on this earth could do." Her eyes gained a clouded, guarded expression. "So either you let me come or I kill you."

Charles sighed. He was not going to get this woman to change her mind. But if she was willing to use her mutation to kill them, when she was so terrified of using it, then he felt certain that she would be able to handle herself. She didn't seem to be one easily frightened. "Fine. But if you get hurt, it is not my fault." He walked away, leaving Erik and Lilia alone.

"Don't try to stop me." she followed Charles, leaving Erik alone wondering exactly what her mutation might be. It worried him how much she seemed to be afraid of it.

The plane ride was filled with silence. The men in uniforms crowded around them, guns shuffling in their hands. Lilia and Erik ended up pressed together, something they both seemed slightly glad about. They leaned towards each other and for once Lilia seemed to relax. Charles was watching from across them, his eyes flickering between them. Even if they did not want to admit it, there was something stirring between them. Like two beasts yearning to be curled next to each other, even if they had to rip through skin and bone to do so.

* * *

When the men opened up the back door to the truck, it was clear everyone inside was ready for battle. But Lilia kept her gaze on Charles. He had a hand pressed to his head, his eyes narrowed as he concentrated. The men spoke a language she did not understand, but soon the door closed and the truck began to move again. Erik patted Charles' knee and Lilia smiled at him, something that made Charles smile back. Erik felt something shift inside of him.

They lay on the ground, each with a pair of binoculars. Erik cast a glance at Lilia. Her body seemed to be shaking with anger. He reached a hand out and touched her shoulder. She stilled, but he could feel she was still tense. He felt her anger.

They watched as a woman dressed in white climbed out of the helicopter. "Where's Shaw?" Erik asked in shock. Lilia clenched her teeth.

"I don't know." Everyone turned to Charles. "But she's a telepath and if I read her she'll know we're here." He adjusted himself. "Let me try something else." Everyone returned to their binoculars while Charles stared at the place the woman and the Soviet were talking.

"He's not coming." Charles shook his head. "So what now boss?" he turned to look at Moria.

"Now nothing. We're here for Shaw. Mission aborted."

Erik pushed himself up. "Hell it is." Moria caught his arm.

"Erik."

"She's his right hand woman." Lilia said, still looking ahead. Her fists were clenched around the binoculars. "That's good enough for me."

"The CIA invading a home of a senior Soviet official. Are you crazy?"

Erik smiled. "We're not CIA." And he stood, disappearing into the woods.

"Erik." Charles tried to reach out to him. He looked towards Lilia. "Please."

Lilia shrugged. "I'm sorry." She stood. "But I need to go." She followed him.

She watched as Erik entrapped the men that guarded the home with the metal curled fence that surrounded it. She was standing right behind him, perfect position to stop him, but she didn't. He began to run towards the house and without a seconds thought she ran after him.

He pulled people by the metal of their clothes towards them and used their faces to propel himself forwards. Lilia, following behind, only had to run past limp bodies. Erik slowed down slightly at the door, turning to face her.

"You followed." He seemed slightly surprised.

"How could I not."

With a smile he walked inside. Lilia turned back to see Charles beginning down the path towards the house. She knew he would come. There were shouts from inside and she rushed in, only to find Erik striding past bodies of soldiers. He waited for her at the door to the bedroom and they both heard Charles running up behind them.

Without a seconds thought the three pushed themselves into the room. The man was sitting on the bed, clearly trapped in some kind of fantasy. The woman, dressed only in lingerie, didn't stand from her seat. Erik and Charles looked at each other.

"Nice trick." Charles said. The fantasy entrapping the official seemed to fade away and he saw the three people by the door and the woman he had believed himself to be kissing sitting on the chair. He began speaking furiously in Russian before Charles reached out a hand. "Go to sleep." The man fell back on the bed.

The woman stood and her body crystalized. "You can stop trying to read my mind, Sugar." She said. "You're never going to get anything from me while I'm like this." There was a moment of stillness before she ran towards the three of them. Erik and Charles caught her by her arms and pushed her against the bed, Lilia following quickly behind. Her eyes were blaring.

The gold of the bed began to wrap itself around her, pressing into the diamond of her skin. "So then you can just tell us." Lilia said. "Where's Shaw?" her voice reminded Erik of his own, filled with such hatred for this man it seemed to be breaking her apart inside just to be heard.

The woman began to struggle and Lilia watched as a cord from the bed wrapped itself around her neck.

"Erik." Charles tried. "Erik, that's enough."

Erik shook his head. Lilia watched as the diamond of her neck began to crack. She reached out a hand to hold Charles back, sensing that he wanted to push Erik down to stop him from torturing this woman. Lilia wanted to see her hurt.

"Erik that's enough."

The woman faded back to her human form. Erik reached a hand out. "All yours." With those words, he walked to where the drinks sat. Lilia reached out a hand and the woman's body convulsed.

"Be my guest." She sneered. "She won't be shifting into diamond form any time soon. If she does, just give her a gentle tap."

* * *

The car pulled up and Charles and Erik stepped out in sync, leaving Lilia to climb out behind them. The base was destroyed, with soldiers milling about in full uniform. Charles jogged over to where his sister sat, with Lilia and Erik walking slowly behind him. "What happened here?" she whispered.

"Shaw." Erik knew it was Shaw. If only they had been here.

They approached as Charles and Raven separated from their hug. "We've made arrangements to have you taken home immediately."

"We're not going home." The blond boy, whose name Lilia hadn't bothered to learn, spoke.

"He's not going back to prison." The boy with long hair nodded.

"They killed Darwin."

"All the more reason for you to leave." Lilia said, her voice matching Charles' tone. "This is over."

"Darwin's dead, Lilia." Raven said, turning to look at her. "And we can't even burry him."

There was a moment of silence where the only thing that could be heard was the wind.

"We can avenge him." Everyone turned to Erik.

Charles walked over to Erik. "Erik, a word please." The two walked away. Lilia, though she itched to follow, remained with Raven. The two girls smiled at each other before Lilia awkwardly hugged her, ignoring her body's hatred of being touched.

Charles turned back to face them all. "We'll have to train. All of us. Yes?" They nodded.

"We can't stay here." Hank, the only name Lilia had bothered to learn, spoke. "Even if they re-opened the department it's not safe. We've got nowhere to go."

Charles nodded slightly. "Yes we do."

* * *

The house loomed over them. Lilia stood by Erik, their hands brushing against each other as they stared up at the place that would soon become their home.

"This is yours?"

"No. It's ours." Charles smiled at the boy.

"Honestly Charles, I don't know how you survived." Erik turned to look at Charles.

"Living in such hardship." Lilia finished, her body shivering.

Charles sent a glance to the two of them. Lilia continued to look towards the house, her mouth clearly clenched tightly. Erik was looking Charles in the eyes, challenging him almost. Raven stepping forward might have been the only thing that could have stopped an argument that would be following.

"Well, it was a hardship softened by me." Charles wrapped his arm around Raven's waist and kissed the side of her head. Erik turned back to look at the house. One of Lilia's and his finger locked. "Come on." Raven separated herself from Charles. "Time for the tour." In pairs, they began to walk towards the house.

**A/N: Thank you to those who have reviewed this; it means a lot to me. However, the main question was what Lilia's mutation was. This will be revealed in the next chapter, but I've kept it secret on purpose. I hope you'll like what it is when I show it.**

**Again, thank you. **


	4. Chapter Four: Control

Charles walked down the long hall to Lilia's room, where he had instructed her to wait. She had not told anyone of her mutation, and Erik and Charles had instructed the others not to bother her about it. Even Erik, who had saved her all those years ago, had no guess as to what mutation she could have that would make her so terrified of sharing it.

He raised his fist to knock on the door, taking a deep breath before doing so. "Come in." She was sitting on the chair by her window, legs curled up underneath her. Her head was resting on her hands as she stared out through the window and she didn't look at Charles when he entered. He sat across from her and stared at her for a moment.

Her hair was pulled into a loose bun at the back of her head. A few hairs were curling down beside the sides of her face, framing it in a way that he couldn't tell was planned or not. There were the ever present scars that decorated her face from a time long ago. And then there were her eyes, the strangest shade of blue, that were flickering about the window even though she was sitting still.

"Are you prepared to train?" she turned to look at him and nodded. "In order to begin, I will need to know what your mutation is." Lilia froze. "Please Lilia. If you want to learn how to control your mutation, then you are going to need to tell me what it is."

Lilia took a deep breath and moved her legs so that she was clutching them in front of her. "I can control…pain. If I were to punch you in the shoulder, then I could take the pain you were feeling and bring it into either myself or someone else. If you punched me in the shoulder, I could take my pain and give it to you. It doesn't matter the amount of pain or the distance. I can't create the pain, or take it away forever."

"Do you know of anything else you can do?"

She shook her head. "I haven't tried to do anything else. But I did make an old man go insane. I don't know how. But I tried to take the pain away and the next day he was insane. I know I did it. He was perfectly happy before. I've also sent animals running. They would be injured and I would be trying to help, only to have them run from me in fear."

Charles nodded. Her mutation had promise. With proper training, she could become one of the most powerful mutants ever; pain is a powerful thing. The person who could control it on a different level than anyone else would be even more powerful. But the fact she was afraid of using her mutation was both relaxing and worrying. He knew she would never use it for evil, but it was clear she didn't want to accept that part of her. Many a mutant would be destroyed by that.

"Are there any physical deformities that result from using your mutation?"

"If I took the pain away from an injury on myself, then that injury never heals. That's why I still have these scars on my face, even though they should have faded away long ago. But the largest is…well, I'll show you."

Lilia stood and turned so that her back was facing Charles. She slowly pulled her sweater up, revealing to him something no one else had seen for years. As he watched, Charles felt sick.

All the way down her back the skin burned a bright red. It was like one large burn that had been cut into and bleed until the blood had dried and dripped down the back. There were places where it seemed like the skin had been completely rubbed off, places where the blood there had dried so long ago it was simply black. And above it all, red tentacles spread out from the spine. They twisted and turned and intertwined as if in some grotesque dance. The tentacles clearly seemed raised above the rest of her skin.

"It started when I was younger, but now whenever I take pain from someone a cut appears on my back or one of the tentacles stretch even farther." She pulled her sweater back down and sat with her back straight in the chair.

Charles leaned forward. "Does it hurt?"

Lilia shrugged. "I know it should, but I've taken the pain away and dumped it into murderers and rapists in prison. I spread it out, so no one person is feeling the same pain I should be feeling. Occasionally I take all the pain back for myself, but I just see darkness and I can feel myself dying. And I know what you're thinking. But it will never heal. I tried when it wasn't this bad. But this scar will never heal."

Charles reached out and took her hands in his, pressing his fingers lightly down. "Does Erik know about this?"

She jerked her hands away. "No. And you can't tell him. He saw me destroyed as a child; I can't let him see me destroyed as an adult. It is my burden to bare; no one else, not even you, can bare it for me."

The fact she already had some control over her mutation, especially when it was something that could so easily take over her, was surprising. Not many people could say they were able to do that with no formal training. Especially with the pain she had been put through simply to get her to use her mutation. She must be terrified to use it, to speak of it. Terrified that she would hurt someone.

Charles leaned back. He could tell that being as close as he and been to her had made her uneasy; he could feel her body violently jerk when he took her hands. She seemed to relax once he was farther away. "It is clear that you have some control over your mutation. But from your story of the old man, I have a feeling that you are able to create paranoia; psionic abilities. You'll need to learn how to use your mind to climb inside of other's heads and find their fears so that you can create the worst for them each. I suspect you did that accidentally with the old man."

Lilia nodded. "I'm willing to train, but I know that I'll need to practice on somebody."

"I am willing, but I feel it would be safer for you not to practice on me. I would need to be there to help you perform the task safely. But before we attempt it on a person, I feel like I should give you a lesson on how to use your mind to get inside of others."

Charles spent the rest of the day attempting to teach her how to use her mind to stand inside of his. It was only when both of them were annoyed that nothing was happening when her voice whispered in his mind. _The boy who could bend metal._

Charles started. "You did it." A smile lit up their faces. "You did it!" Lilia cried out in joy before falling into his arms, both of them extremely happy of what she had been able to do.

"Let us have dinner together before retiring to bed; everyone else must already be asleep." Charles and Lilia stood, with Lilia leading the way to the kitchen. Erik was sitting there, his hands wrapped around a cup of water. He turned when they entered.

"You two look happy." He smiled at Lilia and she smiled back.

"I managed to speak inside of Charles' head." She slid into the seat beside him.

Erik cast a glance at Charles, who nodded reassuringly. "What did you say?"

She stiffened. "The boy who could bend metal."

Erik only laughed. "Well, I'm proud I could be the one who could advance your mutation." He hugged her from the side. Charles smiled as he placed a plate of food in front of Lilia.

There was a connection that she and Erik shared that went beyond her connection with normal people. She hated being close to people, hated touching people. She was too afraid to hurt them. But with Erik it seemed as though she melted into him. Like he was part of her. Like she knew she wouldn't hurt him. It was sweet, but worrying. What would happen to Lilia if she accidentally hurt Erik? Would her connection to the world be destroyed and she would only be able to live inside a bubble that no one could touch her through?

* * *

A scream erupted through the house, waking everyone from their sleep. Charles searched through the home for who had screamed. His body convulsed as he hit Lilia; he knew it was her. Pain rushed through him before he stepped out of her mind. He hurried to her room, where he already found a small crowd of the mutants around him.

"Go back to bed. Erik and I will handle it." Though they looked upset, the mutants shrunk away back to their rooms, each casting glances back. None of them felt right around Lilia. They preferred to keep their distance.

Erik turned to Charles. "What is wrong with her?" Another scream ruptured the air.

"I searched through her mind and it was filled with so much pain I had to leave. Open the door." Erik obliged quickly.

Lilia was twisting and turning in the bed, her body jerking and arching. Sweat was pouring from every point and her nails were scratching away at the fabric. Her eyes were moving franticly under her eye lids, vibrating almost. But the worst was the amount of blood that poured from her body.

Both men rushed to her side, trapping her flailing limbs to the bed. Charles reached out a hand and pressed it to her head, closing his eyes and focusing.

Pain was pounding through her. It tore through her sleeping body and pressed against the sides, trying to escape into the world around it.

"All the pain that she has sent away came back. Her mind must have let the walls down that normally held it back." he spoke through gritted teeth. "I'll try and find the section of her mind that controls the pain and I'll make it take hold again. Just keep her down!" He searched through her mind and tried to find the place. His body twitched with her screams.

Slowly he was able to find the section, but as soon as he entered the whiteness of that section he realized how much more difficult this would be then he believed. There were walls protecting it from being controlled, with a small hole that the darkness of pain was rushing through. He focused and watched as the hole slowly reformed, drawing all the darkness back through. He pulled himself out and felt her body collapse onto the bed, her blood reaching him.

"Charles?" Erik asked. Charles opened his eyes and looked down at Lilia. Her skin was white, the veins clear everywhere on her skin. They were slowly fading away again, her skin slowly turning back to its original color. "What happened? Why is there so much blood?"

Slowly, Charles turned Lilia over. The shirt she slept in was stained wet with blood, making it easy for him to tear. Her skin was covered with pinpoints, the skin on her back appearing a bright red. The tentacles from her spin burned and her spine still dripped blood.

"What is this?" Erik asked, his voice rough.

"When she was with Shaw, he stripped away at the skin on her back in an attempt to make her use her mutation; controlling pain. As she grew older she sent the pain away to criminals around the world. The injuries never healed and every time she controlled pain the tentacles appeared. She didn't want you to know."

Erik ran his finger along one of the tentacles. Heat was radiating off of it. "What happened tonight?"

"Her mind let go of its hold on the pain and it came rushing back in too much force for her body to handle. She must have relaxed her mind tonight for some reason." Charles turned her back over. Her face was calm once again.

"Will she be fine for the rest of the night?" Erik asked, not taking his eyes off of her.

"I don't know. I managed to fix her hold on the pain, but she may let it go once again. There is no way to tell."

Erik nodded and the two men watched her for a few minutes longer, watching as slept peacefully.

"Go to bed Charles." Erik said. "I would like to stay with her a bit longer."

Charles didn't want to leave her; if anything he wanted to remain with her for the rest of the night so that he could hold the wall in place. But he stood anyways.

Erik stroked the side of her face with his hand. He could remember seeing the same injury on her spine when he had first met her, locked in the cage. It hadn't occurred to him that it would have scared. Her body twitched.

He should have known that she could control pain. The way Shaw had been torturing her, the way he had a man placed in front of her. It made so much sense all of these years later. He could remember the man calming after she had placed her hands on either side of his face when Erik had come to rescue her. Erik smiled. Even after everything terrible that had happened to her, Lilia had still wanted to help someone, even though she already felt so much pain.

Erik adjusted her so that he could peel the blood stained fabric from the bed, piling it into a corner before covering the bed with a towel. He pulled the now ripped remains of her shirt from her and washed as much blood as he could from her. Somehow, she didn't waken. Erik constantly was checking her pulse to be sure she was still alive; he was certain that loosing that much blood would mean death quickly followed.

Once she was cleaned and dressed in a new shirt, Erik lay beside her and took her in his arms. He wanted to be the first once who knew if the pain came back to her. Even if it wouldn't, he felt as though she would be safer with him there. He fell asleep with her head resting on his arm, his other arm wrapped around her middle.

**A/N: I am so sorry it has been so long since I uploaded the chapter. But finally Lilia's mutation is revealed. It took me quite a long time to think of what it should be. But I hope you liked it. Please tell me what you think about this chapter, and Lilia's mutation.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	5. Chapter Five: Disgusting

Lilia awoke to something warm surrounding her, a feeling she didn't know what to think of. It didn't feel like a blanket. It was only when she turned her head that she saw it was Erik. His face lost its sternness as he slept, like everyone's does as they sleep. She could almost see the young boy who saved her.

He woke up slowly, his blurry eyes meeting hers instantly. She smiled. "What are you doing in my bed?" She asked, her voice playful. He could feel her body stiffen in his arms, as much as she tried to stop it. She hated getting close to people. Even him.

"You had a nightmare last night; I came in to comfort you." They sat up together, his arms falling from around her. She looked down.

"I suppose I also sleepwalked, since I am in a different shirt then when I fell asleep." She could remember the nightmare, now. She could feel the blood that had flowed from her body. Did Erik know of her mutation? Was he not terrified of her now that he knew? Blood rushed to her face and she glanced away, looking at the wall instead.

"Charles did that. He's the one that heard you. I was going to talk to him, but came here when he wasn't in his room. Staying with you to keep you safe from another nightmare seemed like the best option to follow." The lie slipped easily off of his tongue. He didn't want her to know that he had seen her in the state she had been in, blood pouring from her and her body convulsing. It was better to pretend he didn't know.

Lilia nodded before standing. Her face was still red, though it was less. "Let's go get something to eat. I'm sure the others will be wondering where we are." She led the way to the kitchen, where Charles was sitting alone. It was strange not to see him training another mutant; he had said he was planning on doing that every day.

"Good morning." He nodded at the two of them. Lilia was attempting to keep her distance, while Erik kept his eyes constantly on her. "I wanted to know if you were alright before I went to work with the others."

Lilia smiled at him. "Thank you Charles. I'm fine." Charles nodded and left the kitchen, leaving Erik and Lilia alone together. Lilia ate quickly before vanishing into the house.

She wanted time alone to think through her thoughts and feelings. She approached a sitting room, only to hear voices inside. She was planning on walking straight past, but her name caused her to freeze.

"Do you know what's going on between Lilia and Erik?" It was one of the boy's whos name she did not know.

"They knew each other when they were children I think." She knew that voice was the one of the ginger boy.

"Yeah, but have you see how Erik looks at her? It's disgusting."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like he's fucking her with his eyes. When they're in the same room his eyes never leave her. They follow her as she walks. Even Moria and Raven have noticed; I heard them talking. They say that it's clear Lilia feels something for Erik too; he's the only one she is fine with touching her."

"What even is her mutation?"

"No idea. Must be something disgusting, otherwise everyone here wouldn't be so terrified of her. Even Charles is terrified."

That was it. Lilia pushed open the door, making the two boys turn to her in shock. "Hello." Her voice was calm. "I just heard your conversation about me through the door, and I feel that I should answer your question. You want to know what my mutation is?"

The two boys looked at each other in worry. Her eyes were flashing and her fists were clenching. They wanted nothing more than to run, but there was nowhere to run.

"I can control pain." Immediately their bodies jerked as pain hit them for a moment before vanishing. "I hope that satisfied your curiosity." She turned and stalked away, leaving the two boys shaking.

"Well, she's a good match for Erik, that's for sure." Alex said before his body convulsed again. Lilia had heard him.

* * *

Lilia and Erik found themselves alone with each other during the day. They would have to separate as Charles wanted to talk to Erik, but they would find each other quickly afterwards. Most of the time they did not speak, but occasionally she told him stories of her life after he had set her free. Neither of them wanted to talk about what he experienced.

"How did you figure out your name?" he asked her once as they walked around the lake. "Lilia Iona. Did you know it when I first met you?"

She rubbed her hands along her sweater covered arms. "No. I had no idea who I was. The woman who took care of me was called Mara Iona, so I took her name. But she allowed me to choose my own first name." Lilia laughed. "It's funny. She had just taught me how to read so I rushed outside and picked the first word I saw as my name. I believe it was a flower shop. I didn't want to be called Lily because that was too simple and too ordinary. So Mara helped me change it into Lilia. We decided that Lilia Iona had a nice ring to it, so I kept it."

They laughed together. He wrapped his arm around her waist, something she tensed at but didn't shy away from. It felt nice to have Erik touching her. She leaned her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his. "Do you think we will be able to defeat Shaw? Truly?"

It was a question that had been plaguing her for so long. What if they failed? What if everything she was working for broke down and she was left with nothing but broken dreams?

Erik looked forward. "There is no way of knowing if we will or not. We can only try and pray that we succeed." He stopped and turned to her. The sun was hitting her face in such a way that the blue of her eyes sparkled, catching his and holding them. He gently placed his hand on the side of her face. They could feel the world still.

The kiss lasted for long minutes. They only broke apart for air, and even then they tried to hold their breath for as long as they could. Her hands rand through his hair, keeping his face pressed to hers. Their tongues intertwined. Both melted into each other, Lilia nearly hanging from his body.

It was only when they broke apart and rested their foreheads on each other that Lilia grasped what had happened. She backed away from him, staring for a moment before running back to the house. Erik collapsed onto a bench.

Why had he kissed her? Why? He had just assumed she felt the same about him as he her. It was clear she didn't want to be close to anyone. He had just forced her to do something she hadn't wanted to do. Why? He had felt her tense at his touch, but he continued anyways. He had seen the worry in her eyes, the confusion. The darkness that sparkled in the sun. But he had ignored it. Why?

* * *

Lilia searched through the house to try and find someone to talk to. She needed someone. But the only people she saw skirted away in fear. It was only after searching the house that she approached the library and found Charles calmly sitting inside.

"I need to talk to you." He said, looking up at her. "Why did you use your mutation on Alex and Sean?"

She sat across from him. "Because they were saying things I was not comfortable with. They were not hurt; I made certain of that."

"Thank you for that." Charles raised his eyebrow. "But that is not what you came to talk to me about, is it?" She shook her head. "Please, tell me what is troubling you and I will do everything I can to help you."

She rubbed her eyes. "It is about Erik. He just kissed me."

Charles nodded. "Would you like for me to talk with him about not trying after you?"

She shook her head. "No. It's just…I don't understand how I feel about him. I know I feel something, but I don't want to get close to him because I don't want to hurt him. I've hurt everyone else." her eyes looked terrified. "Help me."

Charles gently took her hands. "How?"

"Go into my head and find out what I feel. Please. I don't know how to do it myself. No one ever taught me how. I tried so many times, but I can't break through to see myself. I don't know where to look. Everything swarms together and I don't understand it." She looked so helpless that Charles couldn't refuse. He rested his forehead on hers and focused.

He was back in the white. It blinded him for a moment before he could see it was a separate part. The wall no longer climbed in front of him. Instead, he was in a corridor. All along the walls small vaults stood, with elegant script declaring what was inside.

Charles walked down the line until he felt his body being pulled towards one. His name danced beside the door and he pulled it open. The feelings of distrust, of fear, of trust, of hope and of sibling love bombarded him. The fear seemed to overpower everything else, sibling love barely fighting it. He closed the door. Next to his was one of Shaw. It seemed to be bursting at the seams, small wisps of dark smoke escaping from the edges.

He stepped in the line of the smoke. Hatred, fear, anger, worry, pain, sadness. So many more swarmed together, seeming to drill itself into his blood. He stepped away.

Erik's was at the end, standing alone at the end of the hall. Slowly, Charles pulled it open. There was happiness, trust, thankfulness, calm, worry, fear, hope. And covering it all; love. It was different than the love he had felt with his, a stronger love of a different type.. With a smile Charles closed the door and pulled himself out of her mind. She looked at him in worry.

"Love." That was all he needed to say for her face to break into a smile.

"Thank you." She stood. "I think I'll be on my own now. I need to be alone. Would you mind telling Erik that I'm sorry I ran?" she said the last words with worry, but Charles nodded and she left.

* * *

Erik was still sitting on the bench when Charles arrived beside him. His eyes stared down the hill, staring at nothing in particular. "She ran Charles. When I kissed her she ran. Why did I do it?" He sounded desperate, lost.

Charles rested his hand on his shoulder. "She ran because she didn't understand what she felt. She didn't want to lead you on, only to find out herself that you two didn't feel the same about each other. She came to me to have me figure out how she felt."

"And?"

"She loves you Erik. More than anything. But she doesn't want to hurt you. And remember, don't hurt her either. Her mind seems delicate." Charles left Erik alone to gather his thoughts.

* * *

Lilia found herself sitting on the windowsill in her room, resting her head on the cool glass as she stared into the distance. Charles had told her how she felt. He had gone into her mind and told her. She knew he wasn't lying. But she felt like she was.

How could she love? How could anyone love her?

She was disgusting. She could control pain. She could make people hurt without even thinking about it. She wasn't human, wasn't anything close to it. It wouldn't be safe for anyone to love her or for her to love anything. She had hurt too many people.

There was a knock on the door. "Lilia?" It was Charles. "May I come in? It's time to train."

Training was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment. "Come in." He opened the door and came in. She turned her vacant eyes towards him. "What do I need to practice?"

"You seem to need help understanding how your own mind works and how to move around inside of it. It's time to teach you that." He gently took her hands and pulled her so that she was standing in front of him. Her eyes slowly focused once again. "Are you ready?"

She blinked. "How am I supposed to learn?"

He gently placed his hands on either side of her head, hating how she shook as he touched her. "I'm going to go inside your head and attempt to bring you with me. That will be safer for you. Are you willing?" She faintly shook her head and closed her eyes, Charles doing the same. He had to concentrate in order to do this. Going into her mind would be easy. Bringing her with him; more difficult.

But when the white faded into his vision, she was there standing next to him. Her shock was enough to let him know it was actually her.

"Where…where are we?" she stepped away from him, looking around the space in surprise. He had brought her to the hall again, where the small compartments held her feelings for everyone she had met. Her eyes fell on one of them, widening as she gained a guess for where they were.

He walked in front of her. "This is only one of the many places in your mind. I picked this one because I've been here before and it is easy to close in on." He turned back to her. "Do you feel comfortable here? Natural in your own mind?"

Lilia nodded. "This is so strange. I don't know what to say." Her eyes brightened. "Can we go somewhere else?"

He shrugged. "This is your mind. So far I only know of two places. But I believe you can pick the place you would like to go."

She eagerly focused her mind, envisioning the place she wanted to go. The compartments faded away and were replaced with a television. She approached it slowly, watching as it flickered to life. There was a small child, walking around and around a tree. Her dress hung off her bony form, filled with rips that showed almost all her skin.

Lilia stepped back in surprise. This was a memory. She recognized the dress from the stories she had been told as a child. In shock she looked back to Charles, only to find him staring at the screen. When she looked back she saw Shaw sneering at her through the white bars of the cage. There was a needle in one of his hands and a knife in the other. Both were dripping blood.

She quickly pulled them away from there. The corridor faded in once again and Lilia looked away, her face burning red. "Take us out of here." And so he did.

The natural light of day faded in once again. Charles let his hands drop from her head. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Her voice was so quiet, her head turned away from him in shame.

He gently raised a hand so that he brushed away some of her hair. "And I'm sorry you had to live through that."

**A/N: Again, it has been a long time since I updated this. I had this chapter written, but I didn't feel completely confident about it. I decided to upload it anyways.**

**Please tell me what you thought about this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter Six: Cracks

Charles left Lilia alone. She huddled in the white space of her mind, replaying any memory she could find. Her eyes studied the screen intently, drinking in the happy memories of her childhood. The one she froze on, studied intently, was the only one she had of Erik rescuing her. She avoided looking at the man chained in front of her and tried to only focus on Erik.

Unconsciously, she began to wander through the halls. People froze as she walked slowly past them, turning their heads so that they could watch her. When she passed Erik he began to follow her. He let his hand hover an inch above her arm, directing her so that she would not injure herself.

"Erik?" Erik turned to glance back at Charles. "What is wrong?"

"I don't know. Can you talk to her?" He sounded frantic, his eyes flickering from Charles to Lilia. He had managed to stop her. She was swaying slightly.

Charles pressed his hand to his head, focusing on Lilia's mind. A wall pushed him back, stronger than anything he had experienced from her before. Even through the wall, he could see her small figure in the room she had showed him. "She has a wall built up. There is no way to break through it. However, I can tell you that she is reliving memories. She's safe."

Erik nodded. "Will she be able to take herself out?"

"I believe so. She just doesn't seem to want to right now."

Erik didn't leave her. It was only when she had finally settled back in her room that he left, locking the door behind him. When she finally left her memories at the end of the day, Charles was the first to know. Immediately he told Erik, who met her as she stepped out of her room.

Lilia froze the moment she saw him, one hand pulling through her hair. Her sweater was pulled over her wrists, almost covering her hands. She lowered her eyes so that she didn't have the threat of looking into his eyes, even if his eyes followed her.

"Hello Lilia. Are you alright?" Erik wanted to step forward and pull her into his arms, keeping her save from everything. She seemed to sense that, drawing herself into the smallest space she could. Her face flushed.

"I'm fine." She wanted to escape. Every time her eyes met Erik's she remembered what she knew to be true, that she was disgusting. It felt as though she could hear his voice saying that in her mind, teasing her and laughing. "Can you please move? I would prefer not to be stuck in this hallway forever."

"I want to talk to you Lilia. About earlier."

Her eyes flashed dark and her head shot up to match him. "I don't. Not right now." Even with her gaze hardening, her voice wavered. The hand in her hair was shaking slightly.

"Lilia." He reached a hand out and she drew away. Shaw's face flashed before her eyes, a bloodied needle in the hand.

She shrunk even more into herself. "Don't touch me." It was becoming difficult for her to breath. "Get away from me."

Erik dropped his hand and stepped aside. His eyes followed her as she slipped past him, crossing her hands over her chest. It took most of her concentration to keep the memory room away. Her eyes faded slightly as she focused, not noticing Raven until she had ran right into her.

"Lilia!" Raven's voice shocked Lilia back, the wall weakly formed. "You're looking better than earlier."

"What do you mean?" Lilia's hand loosened slightly from her chest.

Raven shrugged. "Earlier you were wandering around the house looking dazed. You didn't react when people tried to talk to you. Eventually Erik started walking around with you to be certain you didn't run into anything. Charles told us not to worry and that you were just getting used to a new aspect of your mutation."

The blush formed again, going deeper than before. "Where the others talking about it? Did they say anything?"

"A few of us were wondering if you were alright. But we didn't really talk about it. Why?" She tilted her head slightly.

"Just wondering." Lilia stepped past Raven and walked away. Her face was deep red again.

Erik appeared a moment later. "What did Lilia want to talk to you about?"

Raven laughed slightly. "She didn't want to talk about anything. We kinda ran into each other." He nodded and moved past her. Raven shook her head in worry. Lilia had clearly wanted to get away from Erik, and Erik clearly wanted to find her. They weren't the type to play hide and seek. Something was wrong.

* * *

Lilia had succeeded in finding a space to hide. It was a room at the top of the house, covered in dust and cobwebs. She curled herself behind a sheet covered chair in the corner, completely hidden from view. Her entire mind was focused on forming the wall as strong as she could. The moment she lessened her concentration the smallest amount cracks formed and memories came through.

Occasionally, when the cracks were there, she could hear Charles calling out to her. His voice was faint, but there was no denying it was there. She would begin forming the wall again with those sections.

The door to the room creaked open. Charles stepped into the room, looking around it. He heard a faint crying. Carefully, he walked towards the chair and looked over the back.

She was curled there, her eyes wide and staring at the wall in front of her. She was rocking back and forth slightly, shaking. There were a few tears falling down her face. As he watched another one formed with a whimper.

He touched her shoulder gently. She jumped, but didn't move. "Are you alright Lilia?" his voice was quiet.

"No," she clutched herself tighter. "Because you showed me that room I haven't been able to block it out again. I've been trying, but it doesn't work."

Charles joined her behind the chair, sliding down against the wall. He held out his hands. "May I?" she nodded and leaned forwards slightly, letting him place his hands on either side of her head. Both closed her eyes. It only took a few seconds for Charles to form the wall permanently, pulling away.

Lilia looked much more relaxed. Her arms loosened from around her. "Thank you." She tilted her head. "Why are you here?"

"I was looking for you to make sure you were alright."

She pulled a hand through her hair. "Did Erik send you?"

"Erik was the one to tell me to look for you, yes." He sighed. "He's worried for you."

"Of course he is. All he wants to do is talk to me about the kiss." She sounded clearly annoyed.

"He also wants to make sure you are okay because when you saw him you looked terrified and then you ran. He knew that something was wrong."

Lilia sighed. "Do I have to go talk to him?"

Charles nodded. "I think that would be the best thing to do." He reached out a hand and pulled her standing with him. "Do you have any specific place you want to meet him?"

She shifted back and forth on her feet. "The lake."

He nodded and the two of them left the room. Charles was already contacting Erik, who was already halfway to the lake. They separated at the doorway to the outside, Lilia walking to the lake and Charles watching in the doorway.

* * *

Erik turned his head to watch her approach. The sweater was no longer covering her hands, but she still had her arms crossed across her chest. "Hello Lilia." Her head was looking down at the ground.

"Hello Erik." They began to walk around the lake, keeping a large distance between the two. Slowly, Lilia's arms dropped from around her chest. "I understand you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes, I do." He glanced at her. "I wanted to be certain you were alright."

She smirked. "I'm fine."

"What happened earlier? When you came out of your room? You seemed terrified at something and you still do. Please tell me. I want to help." He stopped and turned to look at her. Lilia did the same.

Lilia's eyes flickered over his shoulder. She didn't want to look him in the eyes. "When I saw you I had just gotten out of my memories. They were still…lingering. You blended with a memory I had of Shaw." There was a small tear in the corner of her eye. She had started shaking again. It seemed to happen every time someone mentioned Shaw.

Erik pulled her into his arms, resting his head on the top of her head. She burrowed herself into his shoulder. He kissed her on her head softly, stroking her hair gently. He hated that she had seen Shaw in him. He hated that he had made her run from him in fear.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

"It's not your fault. If anything, it's his." She pulled away from him, but kept her hand intertwined with his. "I feel I should tell you my mutation. Even if you know already, I have to tell you myself." He didn't know why she suddenly wanted to, but he didn't say anything. "I can control pain."

She prepared herself for him to pull away, for him to run and tell her to stay away. Instead, he squeezed her hand slightly. "You don't have to say anything else."

**A/N: This chapter is one of the shorter ones, but I kinda like it. Thank you for reading this. I get so happy when I see a review with someone wanting me to continue; it makes me rush to post something new as quick as I can! Thank you so much.**


	7. Chapter Seven: Taken in the Night

Lilia sat still, her legs curled against her chest and her eyes watching the flames. Charles and Erik sat at a chessboard, playing in silence the one game Erik had a chance of beating Charles at.

"Cuba." Lilia didn't move as Charles spoke. "Russia. America. What's the difference? Shaw's declared war on mankind; on all of us. He has to be stopped."

"I'm not going to stop Shaw." Erik's words made Lilia tense. "I'm going to kill him." She smiled. Erik wasn't backing down. She was not going to be alone in her wish of death for that man. "Do you have it in you to allow that?" She could faintly hear him moving a chess piece. There was a long pause before Erik spoke again. "You've known all along why I'm here Charles. But things have changed. What started as a covert mission, tomorrow mankind will know that mutants exist. Shaw. Us. They won't differentiate. They'll fear us. And that fear will turn into hatred."

"Not if we stop a war. Not if we prevent Shaw. Not if we risk our lives doing so."

"Would they do the same for us?"

"We have it in us to be the better men."

"We already are." There was tension building, Lilia could sense it. Anger flowing between the two men, fueled by a disagreement. "We're the next stage of human evolution. You said it yourself!" Charles tried to interrupt. "Are you really so naïve as to think they won't battle to their own extinction? Or is it arrogance."

"I'm sorry." Charles sounded offended.

"After tomorrow they're going to turn on us and you'll be blinded because you believe they're all like Moria."

"And you believe they're all like Shaw."

Lilia didn't know what she believed. She knew humans could be kind; Moria and the woman who had cared for her were evidence of that. But she knew they could be like Shaw as well. Everyone could.

"Listen to me very carefully my friend. Killing Shaw will not bring you peace."

"Peace was never an option."

The room became silent once more for a few minutes before Lilia heard Charles stand and sit on the chair behind her. Erik didn't move.

"Lilia, I want you to listen carefully. Do you truly believe killing Shaw will help you at all?"

Lilia let her legs slide so down so that they were stretched in front of her and she leaned back on her arms. She didn't take her eyes off the fire. "Shaw peeled the skin off my back. He stabbed me with knifes. He dug me with more needles filled with drugs than I could count. He locked me in a cage and never feed me. He tortured me. Only to get me to use my mutation. And I didn't. So he did even more. He destroyed me." She slowly turned her head so that her eyes met Charles. "All I want is to destroy him."

Charles moved so that he was crouched next to her, gently taking her hands in his. She turned so that she was facing him, her legs curled by her side. "Killing him won't make the pain go away."

Her eyes watered. "I know. All I want is for him to be punished for what he did."

"Please remember you should be the better man." Out of the corner of her eye she could see Erik watching them. He looked tense, almost as though he was about to leap and protect her.

"I know I should be the better man. I know I shouldn't want to kill him. I know I should forgive him and forget. But you try being the better man when someone peeled the skin off your back. You try to not want to kill someone when they filled you with drugs. You try to forgive and forget someone when they locked you in a cage and made you torture an innocent man!" She was shaking. Charles could feel it in her hands.

"I think you should leave her alone." Erik's voice was tense. Charles glanced back, seeing Erik's narrow eyes and his clenched fists. He dropped her hands, but he did not move. Their eyes held each other for a moment. Her voice drifted into his head.

_I know you think it is wrong, but Shaw is paying for what he did. You are not going to stop me._

Charles nodded faintly and stood. He sat back at the chess table.

"I'm going to go get ready for bed now. I'll be waiting for you Erik." She only nodded goodbye at Erik, ignoring Charles as she drifted past him. The two men watched as the door slammed closed behind her. Ever since the walk around the lake, Lilia had moved into Erik's room.

"Why did you do that?" Charles slowly turned his head to face Erik, who had his fists clenched. "You took advantage of how uncertain she was. You tried to use her."

Charles could only stare at the chess board. "I did not try to use her Erik. I tried to help her figure out exactly what she wanted to do."

"By suggesting what you wanted to do. I expected better of you Charles. Trying to manipulate an innocent woman."

"Says the man who has her sleeping in his bed."

* * *

Lilia ran her fingers through her hair, frowning as she stared into the mirror. It was clear she was worn down, tired. There were bags under her eyes that didn't used to be. The veins on her arms stood out more than ever, burning blue and red with stress. She leaned over with her hands clutching the edge of the sink. For a moment she took the pain of her back into her once again.

It pulsed through her body. Her body caved into an arch. The pain was too much. It seemed to be trying to burst through the skin on her back. She saw darkness and it took all her strength to send the pain back to the murderers and rapists who lived with their sections of the pain. She took a deep breath. There was always a weight on her when she took the pain away. The constant reminder she could only feel for a few seconds after having the pain.

Lilia splashed her face with water before pulling open the door. But she was forced to stop. Erik was sitting on the bed, with Raven in her true form. And they were kissing. She took a step back in surprise. Rage burned up inside of her and she shot pain towards Raven. The woman fell away from Erik, who turned to Lilia.

"I expected more of you Raven." She held her head high. Even then, her voice was shaking. "Go. I would like to speak to Erik alone." Raven did not object, instead slipping out as quickly as she could.

They looked at each other until the door closed. "Why did you use your mutation on her?" he spoke calmly.

Lilia gave him the same respect, as much as it pained her. She had to blink to keep tears from falling. "Why were you kissing her?" Erik opened his mouth but closed it just as quickly. "I thought you were better than kissing another woman just because she lay in your bed naked!" She collapsed in a chair by the fire, resting her head on her arm while she rested it on the chair. "I'll still help you kill Shaw, but that's it, if that's what you want. I'll leave." She knew it was time. How could anyone stay with her for long, knowing what she could do? It seemed impossible to her that someone had stayed as long as Erik had.

Erik came over and sat across from her. He leaned forward and took her hands gently. Even though she tried to look away, his eyes held hers. "It meant nothing, Lilia. I was simply convincing her she was beautiful the way she was born. The kiss was the only thing I could think of to tell her that in a way she would believe."

She tried to yank her hands away, but he was stronger. There were tears in her eyes. "It meant nothing?"

He nodded. "It meant nothing." Lilia raised her hands so they rested on either side of his face. She pulled him to her and they kissed. It was filled with more passion then the one between Raven and Erik, this one shared between two people who clearly loved each other. The two hadn't kissed often and any time they did, it was Lilia who started it. She had made Erik promise that.

Lilia pushed Erik into his chair, her hands running through his hair while his hands clutched her hips. They kissed for longer than either of them bothered to count before Erik stood with her legs wrapped around him and carried her to the bed. She was as light as she always had been. He unwound her from him and kissed her forehead. As he drew away her eyes followed him sadly. "I must get prepared for bed."

She smiled and curled up under the blanket, resting her head on an upturned arm. He disappeared into the bathroom, only to return a minute later in his pajamas. He pulled the light off before slipping into the bed beside her, kissing her head again before pulling her against him. They fell asleep intertwined.

* * *

The red smoke that announced Azazel's arrival went unnoticed by Erik and Lilia. It almost made Azazel feel sad to unlock the two from each other. As he pulled her away from him, their fingers caught, their bodies making one last attempt to remain together. When they were finally separated, Azazel took her hand and vanished once again. Erik simply rolled over.

Lilia awoke when they reappeared, her eyes blinking away the red from the travel. The white of the ceiling faded into view. Her eyes snapped to the first face she saw and her body fell apart.

"Hello Lilia. Did you miss me?" Shaw grinned down at her, his hands crossed behind his back.

"No." Lilia tried to push herself up but Riptide and Azazel kept her down. "No. Please no."

Shaw laughed before stepping away. "Chain her."

The two men began to drag her into the mirrored room, with Shaw following slightly behind. She kept her eyes on his, not fighting as they shoved her into the small indent in the wall. Her arms were yanked above her head and chains snapped on them. Azazel and Riptide immediately cringed. The pain had been sent towards them.

Shaw smiled, kneeling in front of her. "Now, that wasn't very nice. They didn't do anything to you. Apologize." She shook her head and he sighed. "Well, at least I know you've learned how to control your mutation." He cuffed his finger against her cheek. "Now, I'm going to tell you what is going to happen to you.

"Tomorrow is the day the missiles from the Soviet Union cross the line and America announces nuclear war. Right now, we are right in the center of it. And we are going to stay here and watch the countries burn. Meanwhile, you are going to stay right here, chained against this wall. No way for you to escape. Not even _Erik_ could save you now."

Shaw stepped away. "Now, I'm going to leave my men to injure you so that you can't move a muscle. I would give you more of that poison I gave you when you were younger, since that worked wonderfully to get you to use your mutation. But any more poison and you'd die. And I don't want to kill you." He smiled even wider and disappeared from her view. There was a moment of stillness before Azazel and Riptide approached from the side, menacing grins on their faces. Lilia shrunk away, closing her eyes as the first knife dug into her leg.

**A/N: It's been a while since I've updated this and I'm sorry. It was namely because I didn't know if I wanted a chapter between this one and the last. I decided against it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I thank each and every one of you for every review I get. It truly makes my day.**


End file.
